


Reflection

by Tressimir



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit Language, Flashbacks, Friendship, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6234046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tressimir/pseuds/Tressimir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mondo thinks back on his friendship with Chihiro. Chapter 2 spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reflection

Mondo Owada was the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, the boss of the legendary Crazy Diamonds and a titan who was used to people clearing a path when he came through. He’d gotten to Hope’s Peak Academy by being the biggest, toughest, most badass biker in all of Japan, with rival gangs trembling at the mere sound of his name, and he was incredibly surprised that this tiny kid had been gutsy enough to keep walking and bump into him.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry…” The girl picked up her bag and looked up at him, her face paling as she saw who exactly was looking down at her. “I was afraid I’d be late and wasn’t watching where I was going.” She hurriedly bowed and rushed into the classroom, leaving Mondo baffled.

He entered the room after her and plopped down at an empty desk, which happened to be behind the short girl, sighing as he did so. As the others gave their introductions to the class, he began to lose focus until the girl in front of him got up in front of the class, blushing and saying just barely loud enough to be heard, “I-I’m Chihiro Fujisaki. I hope to get along with you all.”

_Chihiro, huh?_ Mondo mused to himself as he watched her return to her desk before getting up himself. Upon reaching his spot before the board, he swept his eyes over the classroom before finally saying, “Mondo Owada. Nice to fuckin’ meetcha.” A look of shock spread across the teacher’s face as he returned to his seat, slouching with an expression of annoyance on his face.

~~

“The hell do you think you’re doin’?!” Mondo’s voice rang out like a thunderclap as he glared down at the hapless punk in front of him. His hands balled into fists like hammers as he took a menacing step forward, spitting, “A real man never raises his hand to a girl! Get the **fuck** outta here!”

In less than twenty seconds the punk was out of sight, leaving Mondo free to look over his shoulder and ask, “You hurt?”

Chihiro shook her head, catching her breath as she pushed herself off the wall she’d backed into. “N-No, I’m fine. Thank you, Mondo; I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come by. He was very insistent…” The girl’s voice trembled a little as she gave him a warm look of gratitude, forcing him to look away and hide his reddening face behind the high collar of his coat.

“Good. What the hell was goin’ on there, anyway? Musta been serious for him to get that worked up.” His voice was gruff as he kept his eyes fixed forward; in the month they’d been classmates he couldn’t look at Chihiro for too long without getting flushed.

There was a moment before Chihiro responded, “I was on my way back from the electronics store when he just walked up to me. He asked me to come home with him, and when I refused he started getting agitated. I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off, and he was going to hit me before you stepped in. Again, thank you.”

The biker glared at nothing in particular, brushing off the thanks. “I was out ridin’ my hog when I saw you, and I got pissed. My brother taught me all about bein’ a man, and the first thing I learned was that a real man’s gotta protect the girls. C’mon, hop on behind me.” He swung himself back over his motorcycle, seated a bit closer to the front than usual so as to leave ample room for a passenger. “Wwe’re both headed back to the dorms. I’ll give ya a ride.” 

Mondo felt Chihiro’s thin arms wrap around his waist as the small girl sat behind him on the bike, laughing brightly, “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.” As he kicked his motorcycle into action, he was glad that keeping his eyes on the road meant Chihiro couldn’t see his burning face.

~~

The sound of Mondo’s pencil scratching against the paper stopped as he turned and gave Chihiro a blank look. “Huh?”

“Sorry, I guess I went too fast. The law of inertia is that an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted on by an unbalanced force.” Chihiro repeated the explanation, speaking more slowly than before so Mondo could keep up.

Shaking his head, the biker asked, “Nah, I heard what you said. But the whole ‘acted on by an unbalanced force’ part is what gets me. What does that even mean?”

The sudden question brought a look of surprise to Chihiro’s face before she was able to come up with a response. “Umm, let’s see… Oh, I know. You know how when you hit something on a motorcycle while you’re wearing a safety harness, you’ll come to a stop with the motorcycle instead of flying through the air?”

“Yeah, I get that. What’s that got to do with it?” Mondo tapped his pencil against the sheet of paper while listening to the explanation, still not really getting it.

“Well, that’s because when a motorcycle hits something, it stops because of an unbalanced force – the force of whatever it hit. And if you have the safety harness on, your speed is relative to the motorcycle’s, so you stop with it. If you don’t have the harness on, the unbalanced force affects the motorcycle but not you, so you go flying off it.”

Understanding dawned on him as Mondo nodded. “So that’s why it ain’t always a good idea to have a harness on. You hit a car and that force affects you, you’ll go with the bike and get run over, but if that force doesn’t affect you, you get thrown clear instead. I got it right?”

Chihiro smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Yeah, that’s exactly it! Your inertia, the speed from your bike accelerating, stops you from getting dragged under the car if you don’t have a harness on. Physics are important when you’re riding a motorcycle.” That smile caused Mondo’s heart to beat just a little faster; Chihiro was kind of like the dog he used to have, small and cute.

“Thanks a ton, Chihiro. You mind stickin’ around and helpin’ me with some of the rest of this?” Mondo always hated physics, but having the little programmer there made it at least tolerable.

~~

“H-Hey, Mondo… About the reason I wanted to talk with you in private…” Chihiro fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, blushing nervously.

He didn’t know why, but Mondo knew something big was coming. The tension in the room was the same as when he and the Diamonds were about to brawl with another gang. “What’s up? Hit me.”

“I-I’ve been lying this whole time…” Her eyes lowered as her voice caught, choked by a combination of worry, fear and hesitation. “I-I’m not a girl, even though I dress like one... I-I’m a boy.” Those quiet words could’ve been an explosion for how loud they rang in Mondo’s ears, but the sight of Chihiro looking away in shame resonated more strongly with him.

Mondo fumbled with his words for a few seconds before asking, “Why is it you dress like a girl then? And why’d you wanna tell _me_?”

Chihiro looked like she – _he_ , Mondo had to tell himself – was about to cry as he answered, “B-Because I look up to you. You’re really strong, and I’m only like this because I got picked on for being small and weak. I want to change, but I can’t do it alone; I want to tell everyone when I’ve become stronger, so they can accept me as a boy.” His voice quavered a little, only to be stopped when the biker placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Fuck, man, you don’t gotta be so nervous.” He thought he could feel Chihiro tremble beneath his hand as he spoke. “Tell ya what, I’ll work out with you, get you toughened up and badass, then you can ride with me and the Crazy Diamonds! How’s that sound?!”

The look in Chihiro’s eyes had brightened significantly as he looked up at Mondo and smiled. “Thank you so much! If you’re helping me, I know I can definitely become strong!” There was a determination in his voice that made Mondo grin. Chihiro was small, but he definitely had the spirit of a Diamond; it would take time before he had the body to match, but that was the whole point.

“Alright, we’ll get started after class tomorrow. Get ready for it, Chihiro!” The grin took over his entire face as he bumped his fist against Chihiro’s. He’d been crushing pretty hard on him back when he still thought he was a girl, but now the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader had to admit that his classmate had the same fire in him that Mondo had seen in his brother Daiya.

“You got it! Let’s do this, Mondo!”

~~

**_The Cage of Death_ **

\--

The engine’s roar fills Mondo’s ears as he shifts in his seat, arms tied securely to the motorcycle his life is ending on. _He was my friend, I was gonna help him show his inner badass, he was gonna be part of the Crazy Diamonds. And I killed him._

He feels the familiar sensation of the bike starting to accelerate, picking up speed and crushing him against the seat as it rockets toward the motorcycle cage that looms before him. _I killed Chihiro when he didn’t do a goddamn thing to deserve it, I killed him ‘cause I was too weak to get over myself. I shoulda been the one that fuckin’ died, but instead we’re both gonna end up dead._

Monokuma ejects from the seat in front of him as the motorcycle enters the cage, which seals itself as Mondo spins wildly inside for his final ride. That terrible moment when he’d struck the final blow flickers into view behind his eyes, the sight of Chihiro’s terrified, tear-streaked face as he brings the dumbbell down consuming his world. Suddenly he doesn’t really feel the acceleration or the heat radiating from the now-electrified cage, his breath stolen and his stomach churning as he remembers those few fateful seconds where he’d killed his best friend from the past he’d forgotten.

_I deserve this. I fucking deserve this. I was never strong at all. Chihiro was stronger. All I can do now is die like a man._


End file.
